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TAC members in court
25/04/2003 16:57 - (SA)
Cape Town - Eighteen members of the Treatment Action Campaign appeared in the Cape Town Magistrate's court on Friday charged with trespassing after a five-hour sit-in on Thursday at the Cape Town offices of the Trade and Industry Department.
The 18 were arrested late on Thursday afternoon at premises known as Cartwright's Corner in Adderley Street, but were released the same day on warning to appear in court the next day.
There had been similar protests in Pretoria and Durban as part of the TAC's civil disobedience campaign, in which the group is pressing the government to provide anti-retrovirals to Aids sufferers.
On Thursday the group demanded to speak to Trade and Industry Minister Alec Erwin himself, or his deputy Lindiwe Hendricks, or the director general, Alistair Ruiters.
The group was told, however, that Erwin and Ruiters were out of the country, that Hendricks was on leave, and that other senior officials were all "in meetings".
Those arrested on Thursday, together with many others, chanted outside the court on Friday before cramming into the courtroom to appear before magistrate Derek Winter.
Too many of them to fit into the dock, they formed a long line in front of the dock, as their names were called one by one.
Although Women's Legal Centre lawyer Sibongile Ndashe had been briefed to represent them in court, she was not present when their case was called, and in her absence prosecutor Denys Pedro asked for a postponement to May 22.
However, one of the accused, a student, protested she had examinations from May 9 to June 4, and could not be present on May 22.
Their lawyer then suddenly arrived, and asked for a Saturday date for the next court appearance.
This did not suit the prosecutor, as Saturday court sessions are reserved for trials and not brief postponement appearances.
Finally, the case was postponed to May 26.
As the next case was called Ndashe realised there were only 17 accused in court - one, Vuyani Jacobs, 32, was missing.
It transpired that Jacobs had been sent to the wrong court.
A police captain quickly tracked him down.
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